Merck's Fortunes Take A Tumble

On the eve of the third Vioxx trial -- the first involving a federal court -- being tried in Houston, Merck may finally be paying the price for bringing such toxic drugs to market.

The New Jersey mega-drug company plans to cut 11 percent of its workforce immediately (about 7,000 jobs in the long term), close or sell five of its manufacturing facilities and restructure its operations structure. Wall Street didn't take the message very well: Merck stock prices fell 4 percent yesterday.

Interestingly, business analysts and Merck executives claim the move has more to do with internal cost-cutting, an odd, but emerging, trend among the mega-pharmaceuticals considering profit margins on drugs exceed 70 percent.

And, with Merck's leading moneymaker, Zocor, running out of patent protection time, the company stands to lose as much as half of its estimated $4.5 billion in annual sales.

Meanwhile, Federal Court Judge Eldon Fallon estimates, when it's all said and done, the number of federal Vioxx lawsuits could reach 100,000.

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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.